I was saddened to see the news that On Spec, the Canadian magazine of the fantastic, will no longer be publishing print editions because of the increasing costs of print production and distribution. On Spec holds a special place in my heart, as it was the first magazine to publish my work. And it has incredible importance to the genre scene, both for Canadians and internationally.

On Spec isn’t alone in their struggles. Most magazine publishers have been ringing the alarm bells for some time now, especially after Amazon drastically reduced the ability to subscribe to their publications through its online service (a significant source of revenue for many magazines). There have been a number of magazines that have shut down over the last little while, and there will no doubt be more to come.

There are ways to support your favourite magazines, though. Many use Kickstarters to raise funds for the year, such as Uncanny, while others are increasingly using Patreon — see, for example, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex, Grimdark, Bourbon Penn, Pulp Literature, etc. And there’s a good selection of magazines available on Weightless Books, either by the issue or by annual subscription. Often you can buy issues directly from the magazine publishers as well so they don’t have to pay a cut to another service — see Weird Horror magazine, for example.

So if you want to see your favourite magazines survive and keep providing you with reading material please support them today with a subscription or purchase of an issue! You may make the difference to the magazine continuing on or not.

As always, thanks for reading!